The First Time
by mikaykaayy
Summary: Cherish what you have while you still have it. OC/OC. One shot.


_Thud._

The wooden doors that separated the Twilight Zone guild from the outside world were slammed shut, sending a thick echo rippling throughout the loft's atmosphere. Now standing before the barriers and dusting the snow from atop his shoulders was Rylo, who as finally returning from the  
(forbidden)  
job he had taken several weeks earlier. Beneath the layers of his clothing he was littered with near severe cuts and bruises, but, as a testament of his pride, he showed not a trace of pain.

It was funny, really - he had begun to pick up on her little habits...

Her.  
Where was she? A warm welcome was in order, considering the amount of time they had just spent apart from each other.

The magician took his first steps further into the guild to begin his search and opened his mouth to call out to her, but -

"Oh," a familiar - feminine - voice rang from around the corner, "you're back."

- he was beaten to it.

His cerulean orbs fell lovingly upon the female as she cut into the loft as well, paired only with the benevolent smile woven into his expression.

Unknowingly, however, none of such displays of affection were returned.

"Miss me, Evanee-senpai?"

Her emerald eyes fell cold upon his own, though not out of disdain or dislike - Evanee found she had a rather difficult time expressing such emotions towards the S-Class. Perhaps it was impossible. She didn't know - nor did she care, really. Instead, the stony glare she presented was out of concern, oddly enough. But it was certainly genuine, as she never issued concern to just _anyone_. She had a reputation to keep, of course.

"I was missing something," she responded distantly.

Rylo hesitated and then said: "Come again?" But he couldn't even fool himself. He had taken a  
(forbidden)  
job from the nymph's disposal without a word to neither her nor Caelestis; he had gone away without permission, answering a request that had been labeled as far more than dangerous, and quite easily could have lost his life doing such a thing.

"Don't play dumb with me, Rylo. I take inventory of the missions on a daily basis. One of mine happened to go missing at the same time you went away, and, of course, it was the only request gone."

_Oh_, he thought,_ I've gotten rusty..._

He didn't formally respond. Instead, the magician stood in the middle of the loft with guilt - and a whole lot of anxiety - written deeply into his expression.

"I figured you'd have nothing to say," Evanee continued, slowly stepping towards the S-Class. "Do you realize how _idiotic _that was? Do you realize you could have been _killed_? There are _rules_ here for a reason. There are _reasons_ that not just _anyone_ can take those jobs - does that mean anything to you?"

Rylo winced. Evanee was yelling now, and it was incredibly frightening when she did so. Yet, as her voice replayed in his mind, he noticed something.

She wasn't angry.

She was increasingly worried.

Shortening the distance between them to a point where there had almost been none at all, it became clear that Evanee's expression had furrowed and defined that worry.

"Evanee-"

"Shut up. Please, just shut up."

His guilt continued to well up as he noticed her face reddening, almost as if she were about to cry. He hadn't intended to make her feel this way. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to show, not only his superior, but the rest of the guild that _he could do these things, too._  
(Her little habits...)  
All he had wanted, deep down, was to satisfy his pride.

And Evanee had picked up on it.

"I get it, trust me, _I really get it_, but please, _please_, don't do stupid things like this, Rylo..."_  
_

The magician was dumbfounded, to say the least. He couldn't form a single coherent thought, let alone a sentence.

She understood...  
Pride and strength. Untamed ambition. It was dangerous - Evanee understood such things, but she was taught at a young age that your strength was the only thing to rely on. When things were going bad, if you had no strength, it was the end. Of course, her beliefs were wrong, and slowly, she was working to improve that fatal flaw of hers.

Now she wanted Rylo to understand the same. She wanted him to know that pride is not a golden characteristic. Strength is not to be depended upon to make a statement. Ambition is _deadly._

A long silence befell upon the two. Evanee clenched her fists to hold back her overwhelming emotions.

"Promise me you won't do this again," she pleaded, dropping her gaze from his somberly and allowing her midnight bangs to obscure the hue from her emerald eyes. "I can't protect you if you're alone..."

All at once, the realization hit him like a brick. Rylo was surprised, despite the fact he knew he shouldn't have been. He knew Evanee cared for him, even if, most of the time, she had a very lackluster way of showing it. He also knew that everything she was currently expressing to him was how he felt about her. It was all the same. The fact of the matter was, he had done stupid things in the past, and none of them resulted in such an emotional reaction from the younger mage before him. He was surprised because he hadn't at all expected her to practically break down in front of him and beg him to actually take his safety into consideration. Sometimes you had to push the envelope if you wanted to get somewhere...

"It's not your job to protect me, Evanee." His voice was slow. Cautious. The last thing he wanted was to make it appear as if he was taking her concern for granted. And yet, she erupted anyway.

"Yes it _is_! It's my job to protect everyone here, and that includes you!" Once again, her eyes shot upwards, meeting Rylo's oceanic gaze, which was now glazed over with the same concern that she had given him. Rylo had noticed that the nymph's eyes had gone red and puffy. Her wall had fallen - no, crumbled down completely, leaving her utterly vulnerable to the 'what ifs' and scenarios and overpowering emotions that clogged her thoughts. She was going to cry. Both mages were absolutely certain of the fact. "I have to protect everyone... Especially you..."

This entire time, Rylo continued to be caught off guard by all that Evanee had been saying.

But he _knew these things_. Perhaps it appeared so foreign because this was the first time she had actually spoken of her ability to care; it was the first time she actually showed that she cared the way a "normal" person would, whatever that meant. She had always acted so cold and distant, it seemed almost ridiculous that she even had these emotions within her, much less the comfort to show them. But she had her reasons for this, and she was going to make sure that Rylo knew of them. Unfortunately for him, it meant beginning with tears, and that pained him. It took a hell of a lot to make someone like Evanee cry.

He was still stricken in awe towards the nymph's words until he noticed her body trembling, shaking with fear and sadness and distress. Not a single thought to his injuries - or anything, for that matter - passed through his mind as he reached forward and coiled his arms protectively around her. His left rested comfortingly along her lower back while his right pulled her head securely into his chest. Evanee's arms found their place wrapped tightly around his torso. Rylo lastly rested his chin atop her head and gave a gentle squeeze, finally serving to reassure her that everything was alright. He was alive and he came back to her.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, "I didn't mean to worry you like that, Evanee."

She nodded, letting him know that she heard him, but did not respond. She kept her silence as Rylo brushed his hand through her midnight-and-mint-green waves. A subdued sigh left his lips.

"I promise I won't do it again," he continued.

This time, she responded: "Please. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Suddenly, her body began to tremble again. The 'what ifs' came back, flooding her mind with terrible memories and terrible futures. She didn't want him to disappear from her life like a stage act that left the audience with a severed perception of reality. And for the very first time since she had been no more than ten years of age, Evanee released it all in the form of tears that spilled over her cheeks and stained the S-Class' formal vest.

"You're not going to lose me," he reassured her, "I'll always be here for you." And he meant it. He and the Twilight ace were polar opposites when it came to their outward personalities, but they shared far too much in common for him to allow her to feel alone. From their childhoods to their quests for strength and onward to their underlying need to protect those they held dear, they were the same. Rylo understood her more than anyone she had come in contact with and vice versa.

Another pregnant pause plagued the air between the two mages. Rylo had wanted to be the one to break it first, but -

"I'm glad it was you."

- he was beaten to it once again.

Though her cheeks were still stained with tears, she had all but stopped her silent sobs. Her vision was still blurry with the water swelling in her eyes, and every now and again a stray droplet would fall, but she had composed herself rather nicely. Except for her voice. It didn't take a careful ear to pick up on the shaky tone. Evanee was still scared, but with his arms around her and his more than comforting disposition, it was slowly being washed away. The security she felt meant one thing: those reasons she had buried away were finally going to resurface.

"I'm so glad it was you," she reiterated, pulling herself away just enough so that their eyes met once more.

Rylo had been slightly confused; he had an idea of what she meant, what she was trying to say, but he just wanted to be sure.

"What do you mean, Evanee?" His voice was gentle and just enough suggestive that it was directed to her point. His right hand came around from behind the nymph's head to dry her cheeks with his thumb. The softest of smiles formed upon her lips through the still diminishing pain.

"I love you, Rylo, I really do."

He reciprocated her smile and brought his left hand around to her face with its twin, lightly cupping her jawline and tilting her head down just enough to place a gentle kiss upon her forehead. She had recited the words so matter-of-factly, yet they were still overflowing with a deep emotion. He had never really expected to hear that specific phrase come from the nymph's lips, but he was far more than grateful that he had. Slowly, Rylo rewrapped his arms around the smaller mage and pulled her close to him once more, relishing in the moment absolutely. It may have started out as an undesirable scene, but perhaps things were just meant to be such a way. Nevertheless, it was all put on the table. There were no longer any doubts. For the first time, everything in their relationship was clearly defined, and from there, it could only grow into something more beautiful than it had already been.

"I love you, too, Evanee."


End file.
